Infinite Stratos, Volume 3, page 2
“I can’t have you killing my wife.”
“Ugh, damn you!” Laura had materialized only the right arm of her IS armor. Using its AIC, she’d stopped Houki’s blade dead. Houki’s anger only grew as an unseen force stopped her every effort.
As an aside, Ichika was Laura’s bride. Normally, he’d be her groom, but someone had told Laura that “Japan has a custom of, when taken with a fancy for someone, declaring you’d make them your bride.” Ichika swore to himself that if he ever found who gave her that idea, he’d strangle them.
“Phew, that was close... Huh? Laura, you took your eyepatch off?” Ichika, finally noticing Laura’s golden right eye, was a bit surprised. The color-changed eye was a focus of Laura’s resentment for her past—that was why she fought, and lost, last month’s tournament with it covered. Embedded with special nanomachines which enhance the function of her IS hypersensor, it raised her visual acuity. Even without her IS deployed, it gave her accurate aim at targets up to two kilometers away.
“I didn’t like that eye very much before, but I think I do now.”
“I see. That’s good.” Ichika nodded in encouragement, happy that she’d become more positive about her own body. Seeing his expression, Laura’s face glowed a faint pink.
“It’s because you think it’s pretty.” Between blushing Laura, afraid to make eye contact and Ichika, whose pulse must be pounding, Houki was the only one who wasn’t enjoying herself.
“Tch...”
“Tch?”
“CHESTOOOOOOO!” Houki’s shout and pure animal rage was enough to force its way through Laura’s AIC. The blade began to fall again.
“Gwah!” With a resounding thump, the blankets and the bed itself were sliced clean in two. Only 15, and yet still such talent with a blade. A master swordsman who saw this would surely have tried to recruit her to his school.
“Ichika! Give up and die!”
“What are you even talking about?!”
“How impolite of you to try to lay a hand on someone else’s bride!”
Three lines of thought, never to cross. The chaos continued until Ms. Yamada, their RA, came running to find out what the commotion was.
◇
A different time, a different scene. I was in the dining hall in the first-year dorms. Given escape from that hell, I was settling down to a late breakfast. Next to me was Laura; across from me was Houki. I’d chosen a menu of natto and grilled fish. Laura had bread, corn chowder, and chicken salad. Houki had a boiled spinach salad with stewed fish. Mmm, each looked great. As I stirred my natto, I glanced around.
“Want some?” Laura had noticed my gaze, and asked if I wanted to share some of her food before gently holding a slice of bread between her teeth. Hm? Why did she put it in her— Wait, whoa!
“Mmm... What’s wrong? Go ahead.”
“You idiot! There’s no way he could eat like that! It’s basically just kissing—” Houki ran out of words and banged the table with her fist. “You should at least calm down at breakfast.”
Laura’s mouth twitched into a terrifying grin.
“Hmm... And was that jealousy I heard?”
“What?!”
“You envy me because you can’t do this, don’t you.”
“Wh-What do you mean, can’t— Ichika!” Houki gargled miso soup in her mouth as she turned toward me. I didn’t want it to be ‘feeding by mouth,’ but it seemed like she was going to insist. Um, when was I going to get to eat my own breakfast?
“...! ......!!” Hurry up, she seemed to prompt. Her eyes spoke as loudly as her mouth could have. I’d rather they hadn’t spoken with the steely glare of a sniper ace, though.
“Oh, by the way, Ichika told me something this morning.” Laura paused for a bite of chicken salad. After swallowing, she continued. “He says he prefers modest women.”
“......!!!” Houki reacted to Laura’s nonchalance with a start, like a dove hit by a peashooter. Swallowing the miso soup in her mouth, she settled back in her chair. Afterward, she continued eating breakfast with a serene expression. The term ‘modest’ must have had an impact, as even her bites of rice were smaller than usual.
Looking at Houki like this, she is quite pretty. Her daily training had left her with a firm posture, and not an ounce of excess fat on her arms or legs. The way she held her chopsticks was especially beautiful, with a grace like that of a concert pianist.
“Whoa! I’m gonna be late!” An unexpected voice broke the silence. Its source rushed into the dining hall, grabbing the closest meal tray she could find.
“Hey, Charlotte.”
“Oh, Ichika. Good morning.”
I had another open seat next to me, so I waved her over. It was rare for Charlotte to be this late to breakfast. Her flustered state made it obvious. It was true, though. If she didn’t rush through her meal, she would be late.
“What’s up? You’re usually always on time. Did you oversleep?”
“Yeah, I, uh, did.”
“Wow, even you oversleep?”
“Well, uh... More, I fell back asleep.” Maybe because she was trying to cram down a meal, Charlotte had a harder time answering clearly than usual. But was it just my imagination, or was she shying away from me?
“Charlotte.”
“Mm?”
“Are you trying to avoid me?”
“O-Of course not! Why would I do that?” Her words said one thing, but I could definitely tell she was on guard. Up until last month, we’d roomed together for nearly a month, so I could definitely sense when she was trying to change the subject. It’d just make her feel worse if I pressed her on it, so I’ll back off. Besides...
I stared closely at Charlotte, who was eating faster than usual. My one-on-one training on how to use chopsticks had clearly paid off. Why, she could pick the bones out of grilled fish before she’d even had breakfast! Well, when she was having breakfast.
“I-Ichika? You keep looking at me, is something wrong? Do I have bed head?”
“Nah. It’s just an interesting change of pace to see you in girl’s clothes after you were in guy’s clothes all last month.”
“I-Interesting?”
“Yeah. I think you look cute in them.”
“But I was in guy’s clothes in the dream...” Charlotte, apparently not very used to compliments, glowed red.
“Hm? What dream?”
“Oh, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!” She waved it off and turned back to her meal. As for myself, having finished with my meal, perhaps it was time for a tea—
“Oww!” Suddenly, my foot was stomped on and my cheek was pinched.
“For someone who prefers modest women, you’re quite the playboy. Remember, you’re my bride.”
“You should compliment me, too.”
Said Laura and Houki, in that order. This was hell. Did I have to spam the B button to escape? I’d really prefer not to be boiled alive.
“Um...” Think of something, self. All right, that’s a good idea. “You’d both be beautiful if you calmed down.”
Smash! A double-foot stomp. That positively ached.
“DON’T TREAT ME LIKE HER!” came in stereo. Wow, terrifying. Each of them were fixated on me with a deadly glare. What was this all about... Did they hate to be compared to each other that much? Why couldn’t they both just get along?
Ding-dong. Listen, the bell has started ringing already, and it’s because you two can’t deal with each other. Wait... The bell?
“Wah! Hurry up, the bell is ringing!”
Wait, what? I was the only one standing up from the table. Houki, Laura, and even Charlotte were already out the door in a mad dash. Dammit, wait for me! “Don’t leave me behind! Today’s Chifuyu—er, Ms. Orimura’s turn to do homeroom!”
Being late would be suicide.
“I don’t want to die.”
“Same.”
“Sorry, Ichika.”
Grr. So it was like that, huh?! If we were going to hang, wouldn’t it better to hang together?! I’d have answered ‘no’ in an instant if the shoe was on the other foot. It was best to keep to a low-sodium, low-martyrdom diet. Just as the thought raced through my head, I made it to the lobby. It sucked having to change from slippers into shoes every time we left, and vice-versa. Hm, the girls were already gone.
“Hey, Ichika.” Wait, no. Someone gripped my hand as soon as I’d gotten my slippers on. And who was it but Charlotte? She waited for me. What a great person! She was willing to die beside me! “Ichika, let’s fly.”
“Huh?” I’d no sooner asked than a halo of light spread from Charlotte’s back and condensed down. Charlotte had materialized just part of her Rafale Revive Custom II—only her leg thrusters and back wings were there. “Wha—”
She pulled me along with a tight grip. The first period bell was about to ring, and the halls were empty. Using the IS’s flight capability, we leapt up the stairs in the blink of an eye. But, um... She probably shouldn’t fly in a miniskirt. Everyone could see her cute aqua blue panties.
“Made it!”
“Well done.”
Really? The bell hadn’t even rung and the demon teacher was already there waiting for us. Class 1-A instructor Orimura Chifuyu. My sister, and a former IS world champion. Incidentally, not just a champion, but the first champion ever, and the best scorer on melee combat to boot. Even unarmed, she was as fierce as a demon. I snuck a quick glance over at Charlotte’s face. It was the first time I’d seen it pale.
“This is an educational institution established to develop IS pilots. For that reason, it’s subject to no national authority, and operates completely apart from outside influence. But—” Smack! Her attendance clipboard rang as loud as ever. “Unapproved deployment of IS indoors is forbidden. Understood?”
“Understood... Sorry...” The classmates were stunned into silence at overachieving Charlotte having broken a rule. Oh, and Houki and Laura had snuck into the classroom and to their seats while Chifuyu was raging at Charlotte and I. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that they didn’t bother to help.
“Dunois. Orimura. Stay after class and clean. Next time, you’ll be writing apologies from in-school suspension.”
“Yes, ma’am...” Drained of energy, we slunk to our seats. There were no upsides to ruining a demon’s morning.
Ding-dong. The bell, cheerily immersed in its own little world, rang for homeroom.
“Today is standard instruction. You may be at IS Academy, but you’re still high schoolers. I’d better not see any failing grades.”
We didn’t have much class time for it, but of course IS Academy covered all the standard subjects, too. Even if there weren’t midterms, we did have finals. A failing grade would get me sent to summer school. That, of all things, I wanted to avoid.
“Also, remember that the field trip is next week. Be sure not to forget anything. You’ll be spending three days away from school. Be sure not to let the freedom distract you too much.”
Ah, right. At the beginning of July was our field trip—our seashore trip. Out of the three days, the first was completely free-form. Since it was at the sea, these teen girls were sure to go wild. They’d been hyping themselves up since last week.
Meanwhile, I didn’t even really want to go buy swimming trunks. Then again, when I told Cecilia and Rin that, they kept up a machine-gun hail of complaints until I finally broke down and said I would. Hmm, guess I’ll have to get that out of the way this weekend. It’s been a long time since I’ve swam in the sea. I’m looking forward to it a little.
“That concludes homeroom. Stay focused today, and study well.”
“Ms. Orimura? Is Ms. Yamada out sick today?” Takatsuki Shizune, one of the more observant students in class, had raised her hand and asked a question. I’d been a bit curious as well, but I’d just assumed she’d slept in.
“Ms. Yamada has taken the day to inspect the site of the field trip, so I’m handling her job for today.”
“Wait, Yamster got to go to the beach early? Lucky!”
“No fair! She should have at least taken me along!”
“She’s probably swimming right now. I know she is.”
As expected of teenage girls, give them something to talk about and they could go on forever. Chifuyu continued to speak, with an annoyed look on her face.
“Don’t gossip like that. It’s annoying. Ms. Yamada is doing her job, not playing around.”
The class echoed with what seemed like a single “Okay.” Always such impressive teamwork.
◇
After class, Charlotte and I cleaned the classroom together, illuminated by the setting sun. There were no other students—IS Academy didn’t normally have students clean. Dedicated janitorial staff kept the place sparkling from floor to ceiling. It seems like our temporary guardians had insisted that, rather than cleaning, our time was better spent practicing with IS. So cleaning the classrooms was reserved as a light punishment, was what we were supposed to be feeling, but...
“Hmm, this is kind of fun.”
“Eh?”
“It really is. Cleaning is. Especially when it’s the classroom we’re in every day.”
“Really? You’re so silly, Ichika.” Eh? Really? I thought Charlotte would agree. I was a little bit shocked. Still, not really caring for it but helping out anyway was definitely a very Charlotte thing to do.
“Oomph.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll move the desks.” But, uh. It was Kishizato’s desk, packed completely full of papers. She called it her “full armor desk” herself, which, ummmmm.
“Nah, I’m fine. I have my own IS, right? I should at least be as strong as everyone else.” As Charlotte spoke, she lost her footing from the weight. I immediately leapt to support her.
“Be careful! C’mon, you don’t want to get yourself hurt. Let me move it.”
“Okay... Thanks.” I’d held her up from behind, so it was almost like I was embracing her. Her gaze began to waver. She was probably having a hard time dealing with a guy holding her.
“Sorry. I’ll let go.”
“Ah...” Huh? Somehow, her voice echoed with regret. Why? “I... I don’t mind...”
“Eh?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Huh? Okay.”
Charlotte’s been acting strange all day, ever since first thing in the morning.
◆
Wow, my heart’s beating so fast... I look okay, right? I’m not making any weird faces? Even though the punishment of cleaning the classroom wasn’t what she wished would bring them together, the pounding in Charlotte’s chest was growing louder and louder. The orange rays of sunset illuminating the classroom mixed with her memories of that morning’s dream, and her ears burned bright red. The heat from her cheeks was almost painful, and there was no trace of the usually cool and collected girl who shared the same skin. What do I do... I should say something, right? But I have no idea what to talk about...
“Hey, by the way.”
“Yweah?!”
The surprise of the unexpected prompt from Ichika was enough to make Charlotte’s voice betray her. Realizing how strange she sounded, she pressed a hand to her mouth as soon as the sound left her lips.
“What’s wrong? You sound funny.”
“Oh, it’s nothing! Nothing at all, okay? I was just thinking about something.”
“Mmhm.”
Ichika lifted a desk, any suspicion seemingly abated. As soon as they were all put back, the two would be done cleaning, Charlotte wistfully realized.
“You know, I’ve been wondering something since last month, and I thought this would be a good time to ask.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Well, you said to call you Charlotte when we were alone together, right? I thought that meant you were going to keep being a boy, but the next morning you were a girl. Did something come up after that?”
“Er, well, uh...” For Charlotte, a bit conflicted herself, responding was painful. Even if she would have freely answered any other day, today, she was nothing but mumbles.
“Oh, uh. If you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to. I was just curious.”
“You were curious?”
“Well, of course I was.”
“I... I guess.” Charlotte mumbled, looking for something more to say. She looked back and forth between Ichika and the windows over and over, before finally working up the courage to speak. Charlotte, blushing intensely, looked straight at Ichika as she continued to speak.
“Well, I wanted to be seen as a girl— I wanted you to look at me as a girl. But it would be weird to only be one when we were alone together. Like I was running away from something. So... It’s kinda your fault?”
“Oh, really? Sorry.”
“It’s not something you have to apologize for...” Charlotte flounced toward the window. Even in the orange glow of sunset, her blush was visible.
“But, you know. I do look at you as a girl.”
“Eh? But—” The unexpected response sent Charlotte’s heart aflutter—but her young passions flowed around, not over, the granite blockhead Orimura Ichika.
“I mean, you’re not a guy.”
A cawing crow flew behind Charlotte. Well, it didn’t, but its call pierced the awkward silence. Ugh... Ichika... Ichika, you... By the time Charlotte got control of herself, she was already stamping her feet, and the red of her face was now purely from frustration. But she couldn’t find the words—there were no words to say why. There was nothing she could do. She almost suspected that Ichika did this intentionally.
But really, if he did it’d be less of a problem. It was because he was such a blockhead that he kept accidentally sending her emotions boiling over. Even that morning, him offhandedly calling her cute nearly sent her heart springing from her mouth. Well, it made me happy... But... But what she really wanted was for him to only say that kind of thing around her. The understanding of how unlikely that was and the unavoidable yearning for it to happen tore at her young heart.
“I’ve been thinking, though. Now that my name for you is your real name, should I come up with a new nickname?”
“Eh? Are you sure?”
